'Star Wars' Cast: What Happened to Those Cumberbatch, Ejiofor and Fassbender Rumors?

Where are they now? Not in Star Wars: Episode VII. At least ... not yet.

The past few months have been heady for Star Wars fans, as the Hollywood trades and movie blogs fought over scraps of rumor about who was testing, who was "in talks" and who was being considered for roles various and sundry in a galaxy far, far away. As it turns out, there were nearly twice as many false rumors (21 and counting) as ones who came true (13).

We found out Tuesday who was in the "main group," as a Lucasfilm insider described it to Mashable. Among them, the only real surprise was Daisy Ridley, a total unknown from the U.K. who's in for a major role. But most of the Star Wars newcomers — John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson — had been rumored or reported at some point.

Andy Serkis and Max von Sydow caught us a little off guard. And the original castmembers, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker, well ... that was old news, just confirmed.

But that list left off a huge list of top talent whose names have been part of the Star Wars rumor mill for months. Our Lucasfilm mole says that while the inner circle is set, casting isn't quite done yet, meaning that some of these actors may yet make deals, perhaps for future films.

Here's a look at the names who were mentioned throughout the exhausting process, and either didn't make the cut, or will be revealed later.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Associated Press

The Sherlock star's name was the first to come up — and the most persistent. Though he openly denied a Star Wars role, no one believed him — least of all the trade reporters in Hollywood, about all of whom had a post pre-written announcing that he'd been cast. Star Wars director J.J. Abrams played similar shenanigans with Cumberbatch as [redacted] in Star Trek Into Darkness, so forgive us all for thinking he may still be crying wolf here.

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Image: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP/Associated Press

The 12 Years a Slave star's name never stopped coming up. At one point, more than one Hollywood trade was prepared to write that he would be a main character. It was that close.

Gary Oldman

This one was on Oldman himself, who couldn't keep his mouth shut about what was going on:

Jesse Plemons

Full disclosure: I vetted Jeff Sneider's reporting on a story saying Jesse Plemons was being eyed for a lead while working at TheWrap. We knew then that it was early — nothing is ever done in this business until you see it on the screen — but we also knew it was true, and Abrams himself later publicly confirmed it. But the meeting never went anywhere. That's life in Hollywood.

Hugo Weaving

Jason Flemyng

The notoriously loose-lipped British thesp had us believing for a couple of parsecs at best. He couldn't make the jump to hyper-space.

Michael Fassbender

Image: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Associated Press

The X-Men: Days of Future Past star has never met a franchise he didn't like — Prometheus and Assassin's Creed, anyone? — and it was The Hollywood Reporter who first put him in Star Wars discussions. Didn't happen.

Lupita Nyong'o

Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Associated Press

This still looks like an intriguing possibility. The 12 Years a Slave supporting-actress Oscar winner is a very hot commodity, and THR reported late Tuesday that another "substantial" female role was yet to be cast. I'm dubious of "substantial" — but not of Nyong'o's chances at this point.

Saoirse Ronan

Judi Dench

She was rumored to be considered for Mon Mothma, but only according to an 0bscure podcast, so ... consider the source here.

Matt Smith

Image: DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES

This one's on BleedingCool.com, which first reported that the Doctor Who star was "called in for an audition." But honestly, who wasn't?

Ian McDiarmid

The guy played Emperor Palpatine a handful of times already, but Darth Vader threw him down the proverbial stairs in the most recent film in the timeline. We'd be surprised if he actually shows up again.

Billy Dee Williams

/Film says he's out. Perhaps the deal has been altered? Pray it's altered further — to get him back in.

Rachel Hurd-Wood

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